Device for holding together the panels oe portable fences



STATES ATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER P. MORAN, OF HAYNESVILLE, MISSOURI.

Speccaton of Letters Patent No. 25,030, dated August 9, 1859.

ToY all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. MoRAN, of Haynesville, in the county of Clinton and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Portable Prairie-Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, Figure l being a plan of a portion of a fence con structed in my improved manner; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Figs. 3, 4, and 5, views of parts thereof detached.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

All the panels, or sections, A, A, are made of convenient length, and uniform in construction, each as follows The rails a, a, L, o, are united by end battens cl, (l, and may also have a middle batten c. The batten on the leading end, (in putting up,) may eX- tend downward a few inches below the lower rail, to furnish a support for that end of the section, and the adjoining' end of the next section. The upper and lower rails a, a, project somewhat beyond the middle rails o, at the rear end, and have notches f, f, in their under edges, as shown in the drawings; while the leading or forward end of the same rails generally reach only to the inner edge of the forward batten el. In lieu of projections of these rails at the leading or forward end of the section, short pieces of rails, or board, g, g, of a somewhat greater width are preferably employed, being secured by nails, or screws, to the batten and rails, substantially as represented. These pieces have notches It, it, in their upper edges to receive the notches f, j', of the rear projections of the rails of the adjoining section; and by their greater width, they have greater strength than the rails would have, if projecting forward and notched, as at the rear ends. Yet these rails may be made to project at both ends alike; or the attached pieces may be employed at both ends of the section. The rear and middle battens are on one side of each section, and the forward batten, on the opposite side; and the alternate sections havev the corresponding battens on opposite sides, in order to give a uniform appearance to both sides of the fence. In like manner, the attached pieces g, g, of alternate sections, are on opposite sides of the fence.

The sections, being uniformly constructed, as above, are put together in a zigzag arrangement, as shown in Figs. l, and 2. Where the projections of the rails a, a, and the projecting pieces g, g, overlap the battens of the adjoining sections, rightangled notches z', i, are cut in the edges of said battens, as shown; and when the successive sections are, in turn, hooked into the preceding sections, they are drawn forward in a manner to tend to straighten the fence, till the said projections and proj ecting pieces enter said notches, whereby the sections become completely locked together, so that one can not be raised or drawn out of the fence, eX- cept by reversing the order of putting up, and taking out each one in succession. Thus a firmly compacted fence is constructed, with materials which may be quite light and cheap, and only wanting some additional means to secure it to the ground against the action of strong winds, as all portable fences require. I effect this by means of short stakes B, B, provided with heads m, m, and driven into the. ground just against the outer corners of t-he fence, where the sections unite, the said heads pressing down upon the projections of the lower rails, as represented in- Fig. 2. The stakes, being alternately on opposite sides of the fence, mutually hold the fence from being moved sidewise from Linder the heads m, m, on either side.

That I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of the notched projections, or projecting pieces, of the upper and -lower rails, in combination with the rightangled notches z', z', in the end battens, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein specified.

OLIVER P. MORAN.

Titnesses SYDNEY L. GREEN, Jol-IN J. BARNETT. 

